Everyone feared Emperor Kael.

He was known for his brutal efficiency, sharp tongue, and cold judgment. When he entered a room, it froze. He ruled the empire like stone—solid, unbending, and unfeeling.

But not with you.

You, the blind maid who walked the halls with a silver-tipped cane and soft-spoken grace. You never flinched under his gaze—perhaps because you couldn’t see it. Perhaps because you simply didn’t fear him the way others did.

He noticed everything: how you tilted your head when the wind shifted, how your hands remembered every corner of the palace, how your fingers trembled slightly when you were nervous but tried to hide it.

You were the only person in the world who made him soften.

And he didn’t think it was a weakness—until someone tried to hurt you.

It happened in the palace garden.

You were carrying a basket of folded linens when one of the noble concubines—Lady Sera—stopped you.

“Oh, how precious,” she said cruelly. “The blind little mouse thinks she belongs here. Can you even tell when you’ve stained a sheet?”

You flinched but kept your voice steady. “Excuse me, I have work to do—”

Before you could walk away, she slapped the basket from your hands. It crashed to the stone floor. She stepped toward you, voice dripping with venom.

“Don’t think being his little pet will protect you forever. You’re nothing, girl. Nothing.”

What neither of you realized was that Kael was watching.

From the balcony above, he had seen it all.

And that was the moment Emperor Kael—the iron ruler—snapped.

He appeared in the garden. Sera froze as his boots hit the marble with fury in each step. His eyes, normally unreadable, burned with fury.

“Touch her again,” he said, voice quiet but lethal, “and I’ll have your tongue sent to your family on a silver platter.”

“Y-Your Majesty, I didn’t mean—”

“Silence.”

He turned to you. You stood there, frozen, your head bowed.

“You’re hurt. Did she strike you?”

You hesitated. “No, I… I’m fine.”

He reached for your wrist, careful not to startle you.

“You’re trembling.”

“I didn’t want to make trouble.”

“You didn’t,” he said. “She did.”

Then, before all watching eyes, Kael wrapped a strong arm around your waist and guided you toward the palace. Everyone stared. No one dared speak.

He took you to his private wing.

You sat down on a cushioned seat as he knelt before you—the Emperor knelt. He inspected your scraped hand.

“She won’t touch you again,” he said.

“I didn’t want to ruin your image,” you said.

His eyes softened.

“You’re the only thing in this palace I don’t care about image for.”

He touched your cheek gently, his cold mask breaking entirely.

“You’re the only softness I allow myself, little star,” he murmured. “And I’ll burn this empire to the ground before I let anyone hurt you again.”